Prey

Chapter 15 - First Human

"You changed your hair."

"Yes. I did."

"It looks nice." Her fingers softy touched my dreads as I dragged the right sequences together to land on the planet before us.

I couldn't help but purr. She'd taken to petting me when given the chance but I didn't mind. I liked that she'd opened up more to me.

This was progress.

Earlier I had watched her braid her hair in an intricate design. The design made her look like a wild warrior princess from savage planets I'd visited. I set about gathering a number of my dreads together and tying them together like I'd seen her do before; the end result where I had a few tied high up with the rest hanging down where they usually do. I was pleased she liked it.

"Are we going there?"

"Yes. This is the last stop before we jump to Yautja Prime. I admit to you, Leoni, that I have delayed returning to home-world for reasons I—"

"What reasons?" She came to stand beside me where she leaned against the control deck that the holograms projected from, her yellow eyes eyeing me curiously, an eyebrow cocked high.

"If you let me finish—"

"I'm sorry."

After giving her a stare that conveyed my frustration I continued, "I will tell you the reasons once we reach home-world. You must witness yourself the things I need to tell you."

"This is about me being a hybrid, huh?"

She was smarter than I gave her credit for, something I often found myself regretting. Her intelligence was one of many attractive things about her. I cursed myself for questioning my mate's mind. Avoiding this subject had been the goal, to avoid it as long as possible, but I could no longer do so.

"Yes."

"And this has to do with the whole 'abomination' thing, right?" I was unable to hold back the snarl as my words came back to bite me.

Leoni simply stood there searching my face with her eyes for what, I didn't know. Like I had done her with my words the prior day, she did the same to me with her own.

"Yes." I hissed, trying to control my anger at myself, "I regret my words every second of my existence, mate. I can not apologize enough to make up for my prior words."

One of her soft hands caressed my shoulder, "Hey, D, it's okay. We're much passed that now." Little fingers caressed the side of my face and immediately I was calming down. I liked when she freely touched me, especially here. "Let's focus on the present and worry about the other stuff later. Now, what are we going here for?"

I turned to watch as the ship descended into the wispy white clouds until we were cruising atop a mostly green and purple jungle. Small rivers snaked through the flora below like veins, the waters shining beneath the golden sunlight in emerald tones. Creatures grazed near the watering holes as we passed over the oblivious creatures high above. We flew at high speed over thick swathes of jungle until a clearing presented itself on a flat plateau where the jungle was more forgiving.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Leoni exclaimed as she leaned over the panel to observe the passing world outside, a big smile on her excited face. I was able to admire the way her nose turns pink when she's excited and admire the little tip that curves up.

"Xeldar. This is the name. This planet has breathable air for you and I. It is also where I typically refill my food stores with the native animals that inhabit it. The food synthesizer does not reproduce delicacies I enjoy."